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24 May 2012

Curb Your Curiosity: Zeena Shah

Today's guest on Curb Your Curiosity this week is a lady whose work I was introduced to earlier in the year when I met with a bride who had her Save The Dates designed by her. I instantly fell in love with their vibrant simplicity and demanded to know who the designer was. Zeena Shah, she told me...

• Introduce yourself to us!

Hello! I'm Zeena, a printed textile designer maker, with a love of all things print and pattern and creator of z e e n a - a collection of handmade & hand silk screen printed home accessories lovingly made in our East London studio.

I love silk screen printing and the immediacy at which you can realise a design, change colour, everything seems possible.

• Where do you find your inspiration- who or what inspires you?

All sorts of things inspire me, from leaves I find on the street to vintage books,my many collections.

• How do you translate your inspiration into a design?

I try to spend as much time as I can drawing the things I collect, then these drawings will turn into more stylized designs for screen prints.

• How do you structure your working day?

I usually spend the first part of the day answering emails, processing orders and making huge to do lists. Then spend the afternoon printing and making up products. However, no day is ever the same as we're often running workshops, hosting hen parties or at lifestyle events and trade shows.

• We all get creative block. How do you combat it?

I share my studio space with an illustrator and a graphic design and this helps keep things interesting, we are all constantly sharing stories and ideas and talking about new and exciting things that we'd otherwise never know about. Running workshops and showing my work at lifestyle events is also great, meeting people who love your work and want to learn your craft is really inspiring. Most importantly you should always take a step back and RELAX.

• Share your favourite tool with us.

This is definitely my Janome sewing machine and scalpel, I just couldn't live without them.

• Describe your dream creative space…

This would be a big, bright white room with lovely windows, filled with vintage furniture and hints of pattern and colour.

• What lead to the moment that made you decide to sell your products professionally?

I had been working for a number of design companies after graduating from art school and just got fed up one day of always creating things for other labels, so I quit my job and set up on my own. I started running my business from my bedroom and things just grew from there.

• What are the obstacles you've encountered on your journey so far?

Running your own business is tough, it's hard work, non stop and you have to be committed to make things work. We've had so many obstacles but you learn to be flexible and adapt and things always work out in the end!

• The biggest high of your career so far is...

I feel so lucky to have had lots of high points! from illustrating a book cover to getting my products stocked in a big UK retailer.

• What's the biggest lesson you've learnt on your creative journey so far & what advice would you give to a newbie?

Keep going! Things will get easier, stay true to yourself and design what you love!

• What's next for you?

We're currently designing some new products to launch at our upcoming trade show in June. We're really excited and just want to keep added new things to the range.

• Take us on a crawl of your favourite shops. Where do you like to shop and why?

Our studio is in the heart of east London, we're a stones throw away from Redchurch Street filled with some wonderful shops; Labour & Wait is one of my favourites, I also love SCP on Curtain Road and Paper Dress Vintage.

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